                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

WHO MAY ENTER INTERIOR OF LOCAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES; SEARCHES OF THOSE
ENTERING (§ 53.1-127)

A. Members of the local governing bodies that participate in the funding of a
local correctional facility may go into the interior of that facility. The
Governor, members of the General Assembly, and agents of the Board may go into
the interior of any local correctional facility. In addition, Department of
Corrections staff and state and local health department staff shall, in the
performance of their duties, have access to the interior of any local
correctional facility subject to the standards promulgated pursuant to
subsections A and B of &#xA7; 53.1-68. Attorneys shall be permitted in the
interior of a local correctional facility to confer with prisoners who are their
clients and with prisoners who are witnesses in cases in which they are
involved. Except for the announced or unannounced inspections authorized
pursuant to subsections A and B of &#xA7; 53.1-68 or a review conducted pursuant
to &#xA7; 53.1-69.1, the sheriff, jail administrator, or other person in charge
of the facility shall prescribe the time and conditions under which attorneys
and other persons may enter the local correctional facility for which he is
responsible.

B. Any person seeking to enter the interior of any local correctional facility
shall be subject to a search of his person and effects. Such search shall be
performed in a manner reasonable under the circumstances and may be a condition
precedent to entering a local correctional facility.

HISTORY: 1982, c. 636; 1995, c. 797; 2017, c. 759; 2022, c. 277.